THE CANADIAN REGISTRY OF LOBBYISTS: KEY FEATURES

The Canadian Registry of Lobbyists is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week on the website of the Office of the Commissioner of Lobbying.

The Registry discloses details about who is being paid to communicate with federal public office holders and on what subject matters. It is the central source of information about individuals, not-for-profit organizations and for-profit corporations who lobby the federal government by communicating with elected officials or public servants.

The information contained in the Registry includes:

• who lobbies for which firms, corporations, organizations or associations;
• which parent and subsidiary companies or corporations benefit from lobbying activities;
• the organizational members of coalition groups;
• a general description of the subject matter of lobbying activities, as well as some details;
• which Government of Canada departments or agencies are being contacted;
• the names and descriptions of the specific legislative proposals, bills, regulations, policies, programs of interest and grants, contributions or contracts sought;
• the positions former public office holders have held within the Government of Canada before they started lobbying; and information regarding oral and arranged communications with designated public office holders. Lobbyists must disclose oral and arranged communications with designated public office holders on a monthly basis. Monthly returns must be filed not later than 15 days after the end of any month in which communication of a prescribed type involving a designated public office holder took place. The Lobbyists Registration Regulations prescribe the types of communications that must be reported in a monthly report as "oral and arranged communications excluding oral and arranged communications initiated by public office holders related to the development of policy, programs or legislation."  In-house and consultant lobbyists must report all oral and arranged communications relating to financial benefits, even when initiated by a public officer holder. Likewise, consultant lobbyists must report oral and arranged communications relating to a contract regardless of who initiated the communication.

The following scenarios are examples indicating when monthly returns must be filed:

Scenario 1: A lobbyist is registered to lobby Health Canada on a policy issue. She calls the office of the Minister of Health and arranges for her client and herself to meet with the Minister's Chief of Staff the following week. The meeting takes place as scheduled. In this example, the new provisions of the Lobbying Act relating to communication with a designated public office holder would apply as follows:

• A return containing certain details about the meeting with the Chief of Staff must be filed no later than the 15th day of the month following the meeting.

Scenario 2: A professional association is registered as an in-house lobbyist (organization) to lobby Environment Canada with respect to proposed legislation that is of interest to the association's members. The Vice-President, Government Relations, for the association, who is listed as being one of the association's registered lobbyists, is having lunch at a downtown restaurant. As he is leaving, he notices an Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM) from Environment Canada in the cloakroom. He introduces himself, briefly states his association's interest in the proposed legislation, and arranges to meet the ADM the following week. The meeting takes place as scheduled. In this example, the new provisions of the Lobbying Act relating to communication with a  designated public office holder would apply as follows:

• No monthly return would be required with respect to the unplanned meeting in the cloakroom.
• A return containing certain details about the arranged meeting with the ADM must be filed no later than the 15th day of the month following the arranged meeting.

Scenario 3: A consultant lobbyist is registered to lobby the National Research Council on behalf of a client who is seeking a repayable contribution to help develop a new product. The Minister of Industry has expressed interest in learning more about the product. A member of his staff calls the lobbyist or arranges for a briefing with the Minister and the Deputy Minister. In this example, the new provisions of the Lobbying Act relating to communication with a designated public office holder would apply as follows:

• A return containing certain details about the meeting must be filed no later than the 15th day of the month following the briefing because the subject matter of the meeting related to a financial benefit, regardless of the fact that the meeting was arranged by a designated public office holder.

What information must be contained in a monthly return?
Monthly returns must disclose the name, title or military rank, and department of each designated public office holder with whom a lobbyist has communicated, the date of the communication, and the subject matter of the communication.

This information is publicly available online and is easily searchable by users at no cost.